How many drone strikes have been conducted under President Trump's first administration?
Executive summary
Estimates vary widely because trackers define "drone strikes" differently and some datasets include all airstrikes; the Bureau of Investigative Journalism counted 2,243 strikes in Trump’s first two years, a figure widely cited to show a sharp uptick early in his term [1]. Independent analyses and NGOs report large increases in Yemen and Somalia and hundreds of strikes in 2017–2018 alone [2] [3].
1. A single number is elusive — what trackers actually count
Different organizations count different actions: some trackers include all U.S. counter‑terror airstrikes and special‑operations raids, while others restrict the tally to remotely piloted aircraft strikes. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s widely reported total of 2,243 strikes in Trump’s first two years is one of the largest published figures and mixes theaters where the U.S. was openly at war with covert areas of operations [1]. Other outlets and NGOs focus on Yemen, Somalia and Pakistan and report much smaller—but still increased—annual totals [3] [4].
2. Early surge and theater shifts: Somalia, Yemen, Afghanistan
Multiple sources document a clear geographic shift and concentration of activity under Trump: strikes rose markedly in Somalia and Yemen and U.S. air operations in Afghanistan also increased after the 2017 policy shift. The Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s headline figure reflects heavy activity in Afghanistan, while Somali strike totals show the majority of U.S. counter‑terror air actions in that country occurred under Trump, according to aggregated trackers [1] [3] [5].
3. Short‑term tallies: 2017–2018 spike cited by analysts
News analyses cited in reporting found hundreds of strikes in the first two years: a Daily Beast analysis cited by Truthout counted 238 drone strikes in 2017–2018, and other outlets noted a doubling or tripling of strikes in specific countries in 2017 [2] [6]. Academic and think‑tank pieces from 2017–2018 documented that the pace of strikes, bomb drops and operations in inherited theaters rose early in Trump’s term [5] [7].
4. Policy changes that made counting harder and may have increased activity
Trump revoked an Obama executive order requiring CIA reporting on strikes and designated large swaths of Yemen and Somalia as "areas of active hostilities," exempting them from prior disclosure rules; critics say these moves reduced transparency and likely enabled more decentralized strike approvals [1] [3]. Advocates of the administration argue these changes returned operational discretion to military and intelligence commanders; opponents, including the ACLU, argue the rules expanded authority to use lethal force and relaxed safeguards [8] [3].
5. Disagreement among analysts about the scale and meaning of increases
Some analysts and NGOs interpret the rising counts as a dramatic "surge" in drone warfare and civilian harm, presenting the Bureau of Investigative Journalism or NGO totals as evidence [1] [2]. Other scholars caution that lumping all types of strikes and theaters together obscures continuity across administrations and the fact that Afghanistan—an open war zone—accounts for many sorties included in large aggregates [9]. War on the Rocks explicitly warns that headline comparisons can mislead because of differing definitions and theater mixes [9].
6. Civilian casualty transparency fell even as activity rose
Reporting shows that Trump’s revocation of the reporting rule and the designation of active hostilities limited public accounting of civilian casualties; independent trackers and NGOs therefore filled part of the gap, but their methodologies differ and produce ranges rather than precise counts [1] [3]. The ACLU and human‑rights groups flagged policy changes as undermining protections that had been part of the prior administration’s rules [8] [3].
7. What can confidently be stated, and what remains uncertain
Available sources consistently report a notable increase in U.S. air and drone activity early in the Trump presidency and show that major trackers published high two‑year totals such as 2,243 strikes [1] [2]. Precise, universally agreed counts for “drone strikes” in Trump’s first administration are not available in the supplied reporting; differences stem from definitions (airstrike vs. drone strike), inclusion of Afghanistan, and whether special operations raids are counted [9] [1].
8. How to read future claims about strike totals
When confronted with a headline number, check which tracker produced it, what theaters and platforms are included, and whether the count aggregates airstrikes, drone strikes, and raids. The most cited large figure for Trump’s first two years is the Bureau of Investigative Journalism’s 2,243 strikes; other analyses emphasize hundreds of strikes in 2017–2018 and sharp increases in Yemen and Somalia [1] [2] [3]. Available sources do not mention a single, definitive official tally that isolates only remotely piloted drone strikes across all theaters for the full Trump first term.